Maybe you have noticed it, and maybe you haven’t.
Humans often try to pigeonhole themselves, others and whatever philosophy or deity they might believe in.
I like Merriam-Webster’s definition of “pigeonhole.”
“A neat category which usually fails to reflect actual complexities.”
Whenever we look at life in a dualistic way and try to label something black/white, masculine/feminine, good/bad, light/dark, and so on, we wander into dangerous territory.
Most of the time this process is so automatic, we are unaware we are doing it.
The day I realized no one, not a single other person, perceives the world around me exactly the same way I do, was life-changing.
My body, mind, spirit and heart, have experienced life in a profoundly unique manner.
Everything I witness or do or think or believe is filtered through everything I have done, everything that has happened to me, everywhere I have been and everyone with whom I’ve engaged.
No one else has ever lived the life I have lived, and no one else ever will.
When you consider all the intricate details of life as it unfolds on a daily basis, this concept is mind boggling.
This is important to remember for those of us who seek to live according to a particular spiritual tradition.
Many people tend to define for others how they should live their lives, without even knowing where others’ lives have been, or what they have experienced.
I think the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) Jesus speaks of in the Sermon on the Mount take this complexity of the human heart into consideration in a beautiful way.
No longer is it about restricting specific behaviors, period.
Now it is about how to live a life of wholeness by changing the way we live and perceive life in our hearts. And by living according to this Way, we accomplish what the Ten Commandments were intended to do, when spoken to people with hardened hearts, in need of such directness. (On a side note, we humans today don’t seem to be so different from those hard-hearted people of yesterday.)
Jesus takes the law, which is presented in a restrictive way, and transforms it into life-giving Love in the principles of the Beatitudes.
This week, Christians around the world begin their 40-day observance of Lent.
Traditionally, they have used the words “Repent, and believe in the gospel” as a way to frame this penitential season. “Repent” is often seen in a negative light, as in “acknowledge your life as filled with wrong doing.”
The Greek word originally used for “repent,” however, was “metanoia,” which has a remarkably more constructive meaning: “a transformative change of heart.”
This is what Jesus wants for us, and this is why he lived among us: so that we might experience a transformation of the heart.
If you observe Lent, I challenge you to stop seeing it as cold discipline, that forces you into self-denial, as retribution for your countless sins.
Instead, see this time as a beautiful opportunity to shift your perception and experience of the Holy One from one of dominance, control and punishment to one of unspeakable compassion, understanding, patience, kindness and gentleness. This is the reality of The Only One who sees all in the Wholeness it was made, rather than what we see through our limited perceptions.
This is that moment that Compassionate, Understanding, Patient, Kind and Gentle Holy One has been waiting for your entire life.
Why not open your heart to it, and be transformed.
- SPIRIT MATTERS is a weekly column that examines experiences common to the human spirit. Contact Jerrilyn Zavada at jzblue33@yahoo.com to share how you engage your spirit in your life and community.